Need to Carry Passport Everywhere?

[Baby Hutabarat]

Hi,

 

As tourist in Spain, do I need to carry passport everywhere I go ?

My question is because some people warned me about pickpocket.

 

thanks 

[Roger Warwick]

Hello,

In theory, yes. By law, you should have some sort of personal identification with you at all times.

And if you want to pay anything by credit card, the great majority of establishments will ask you for ID before accepting payment.

I think the best thing to do is to make absolutely sure you carry all your valuables where a pickpocket can't get at them. And make sure you're very alert and aware of your surroundings when walking about the city.

Pickpockets do target tourists, but I'm a blond Englishman and look more like a tourist than most people, yet I've been living in Madrid for 22 years without ever having problems with pickpockets. You just need to be careful.

Roger.

http://www.GoMadrid.com - Madrid City Guide.

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yip :-)

[Alison Hyde]

You should keep your passport in a lightweight sturdy purse that goes around your neck, INSIDE YOUR CLOTHES next to your skin.

[edrina.h...@gmail.com]

Thanks a lot, all :)
Spain, here I come.. I'm so excited :)

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Qtel

[Sandy Howell]

When we travel, we always make a copy of our passports and put them in the room safe, just in case our passports are stolen. 

 

Sandy

[grimgaunt]

I was actually stopped by police on the street in Santiago de Compostela and asked for it as was my walking partner. I had the real thing deep in my backpack and a copy in my pocket.

Of course after 1 mo of walking the Camino we both looked like total derelicts :) so the cops were justified in asking us

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From: Sandy Howell <sandy...@mchsi.com>
To: trave...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Tue, September 28, 2010 6:22:41 AM
Subject: RE: [travelspain] Need to Carry Passport Everywhere?

When we travel, we always make a copy of our passports and put them in the room safe, just in case our passports are stolen. 

 

Sandy

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[edw martinez]

Once at my destination, I never carry mine unless I know I am going to try and exchange money etc.  Of course, usually the hotel desk will ask for it.  Usually I just carry a copy pasted into a small diary- notebook always on hand.  Several have mentioned making copies.  Very good advice.  I make several of the front page, one for me, one for the luggage etc.  I also scan a copy and gmail it to myself as a back up.  You can always retrieve it wherever via computer access.  Cyber cafe and computer shops are on every corner now a days.   If you do lose the passport, you go to the consulate-- not the embassy.  I understand it makes it very simple and quick (plus a fee of course) to get issued a new something  if you have your copy.  A friend of mine discovered she had lost her passport upon getting to  the Madrid airport for departure to the US.  She got on the plane by showing her copy and shedding lots of tears.  Tears did not work as well upon arriving at US Customs, but eventually- via the magic of computers, finger scans, etc, she was allowed to enter.  Another friend, got all the way from the US and into Madrid on an old passport (with a different colored cover)  that had expired years before.  She picked up the wrong one out of the desk.  She got an new updated copy while in Madrid.  So it goes.

 

Good travels!

 

edwwwwwwww

[Pete Clark]

In message <AANLkTi=yyRCDbHSh5RPLjuPBV...@mail.gmail.com
>, edw martinez <edw...@gmail.com> writes

> Once at my destination, I�never carry mine unless I know I am going
> to try and exchange money etc.� Of course,�usually the hotel desk
> will ask for it.� Usually I just carry a copy�pasted into a small
> diary-�notebook always on hand.� Several have mentioned making

> copies.� Very good advice.�

The problem is, it depends on why you are needing the documents at any
particular time.

The law says that you must carry identification at all times. Most
Spanish, and many Europeans, carry their ID card, which (used to be)
like a drivers licence. If you don't have that, you need your passport.
A copy is acceptable if you have had it validated by a Spanish notary.

I have been here for 10 years, and haven't been ever asked for ID on the
street, even when I have been pulled over by traffic police, but it is
quite normal to be asked when buying in a shop, to validate a credit
card, or to set up a guarantee for expensive goods, or similar..

So, like every other rule in Spain, there is a rule, and whether it
applies or not depends on the situation, but you can guarantee that, if
you are not carrying the correct ID, you will meet a cop who is having a
bad day, and has a different interpretation to you.

A simple photocopy is not (may not be!) acceptable.

And compared to most other places that I have been, crime is very low
here.

--
Pete Clark

Local sites for Local People in Spain
http://localFaces.net